Foam inducer for beer and the like



Sept. 7, 1954 GUNTHER 2,688,474

FOAM INDUCER FOR BEER AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 z, 54 64 INVENTORE 10 in/arm L? fumffier Sept. 7, 1954 GUNTHER 2,688,474

FOAM INDUCER FOR BEER AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BEE/e l0 96 as 92 g BEER /N IN V EN TOR.

HTTURNEYS Patented Sept. 7, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOAM INDUCER FOR BEER AND THE LIKE Roland E. Gunther, Oceanside, N. Y.

Application November 20, 1951, Serial No. 257,327

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a spigot used for dispensing draught beer which generates a longlasting head of foam on a glass of beer.

As is known, ordinary beer contains dissolved carbon dioxide gas which creates a head of foam when the beer is drawn into a glass. The carbon dioxide gas is highly soluble in beer and it quickly permeates through the walls of the bubbles. This tends to make the bubble run together and collapse so that the head is lost in a very short period of time.

In the present invention I provide a beer spigot with an auxiliary passageway or by-pass which is constricted to increase the velocity of the beer passing through it. A micro-porous insert connected with a supply of gas under pressure introduces many small streams of gas into the fastm-oving liquid to form innumerable tiny bubbles and a dense creamy foam which does not easily break. By using a non-toxic gas with low water solubility such as air or nitrogen which does not readily permeate through the walls of the bubbles, I achieve a foam which has proven in actual laboratory tests to last between four or five times as long as the ordinary foam on a glass of beer.

This invention can best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of my spigot; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 to 5 are vertical sectional views taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing the position of the passageways for different position of the spigot plug; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 65 of Fig. 2 showing the plug in foam position; Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the spigot plug; Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a modified form of spigot; Figs. 9 to 11 are horizontal sections taken on line 9--9 of Fig. 8 showing the position of the passageways for different positions of the modified plug; Fig. 12' is a horizontal section taken on line 12-42 of Fig. 8 showing the plug in foam position.

Turning now to Fig. l, the numeral It) indicates a beer feed line to spigot l2 and I4 represents a filling spout or outlet for the beer. Pipe [6 supplie a gas under pressure such as air or nitrogen to spigot l2 from a suitable source of supply (not shown) and this pipe is equipped with a standard type of pressure regulator l8 for controlling the gas pressure to spigot [2. As best shown in Fig. 2 spigot l2 comprises a casing 20 provided with a tapered bore 22 and three holes, a beer inlet hole 24, a gas inlet hole 26 and a beer outlet hole 28. Holes 26 and 28 do not show in Fig. 2 but their position in casing 28 is clearly shown in Figs. 3 to 5.

Tapered bore 22 of casing is adapted to receive a split plug 31) which is divided in half by a plate or spacer 32 (see Fig. '7). Plug 35} may be made in two parts as described to simplify its manufacture but it is obvious that the plug may be made in one piece without changing the meth- 0d of operation. Pins 34 attached to one-half of plug 30 register with holes 36 in spacer 34 and with holes 38 in the second half of the plug to provide a guide for assembling plug 30. The holes are so spaced that there is only one possible way in which plug 36 may be assembled to fit tapered bore 22. Split collar 40 and nut 42 hold one end of plug 30' in bore 22 and the other end is held by spring 4 1 and collar 46. Collar 46 is drawn sufficiently tight to give a liquid-tight seal between plug 30 and casing 20 but not tight enough to interfere with rotation of the plug. Plug 30 is rotated by handle 48 which fits over a half-round shoulder 50 on plug 30 and i held in place by nut 52.

The periphery of plug 30 is provided with four holes, a main beer inlet hole 54, an auxiliary beer inlet hole 56, a gas inlet hole 58 and a beer outlet hole 60 (see Fig. 7). These holes are interconnected and adapted to supply beer or foam to spout M depending upon the position of handle 48. A main beer passageway 62 connects the inlet and outlet holes 54 and so and an auxiliary passageway 64 which connect with the main passageway. The construction of these passageways and position of the holes in the periphery of plug 30 may best be understood by following the movement of beer through the plug for different positions of handle 48.

With handle 48 in the off position, indicated at 66 in Fig. 1, holes 54, 55, 58 and 60 in plug 39 are against a solid portion of casing 26.) and as a result neither beer or gas can enter spigot l2 (see Figs. 4 and '7) To fill glass 68 to the desired level with beer, handle 48 is moved down into the position indicated at Ill in Fig. 1. When this is done, main beer inlet 54 and outlet 60 in plug 30 register with inlet 24 and outlet 28 in casing 20 respectively and the beer is free to flow through main passageway 62 and into the glass (see Fig. 5). A small amount of beer may flow into auxiliary channel fi l which is connected with main passageway 62 at beer inlet 54 but it cannot escape because holes and 58 in plug as remain against the solid portion of casing 26 (see Fig. 5). In drawing the beer it is desirable to tilt glass 66 at an angle with filling spout Hi to avoid agitation of the beer so that it will retain substantially all of its dissolved carbon dioxide gas.

In order to put a head of foam on the beer, handle 48 is moved into the position indicated at 12 in Fig. 1. With plug 39 held in this position, the auxiliary beer inlet 56 is aligned with inlet 24 of casing 20, gas inlet 58 is aligned with inlet 26 in casing 20, and main beer inlet 54 is aligned with outlet of casing 20. As best shown in Figs. 2,5 and 6the beer now flows from auxiliary inlet 55 into slot it; of spacer 32 (see Fig. '7) and as it passes constriction E8 in auxiliary passageway 64 its velocity is increased. Just beyond constriction i8 is a micro-porous insert 89 which is held in the mouth of channel 82 by a suitable adhesive or the like. Gas is supplied from inlet 58 to micro-porous insert 89 by channel 82 at a pressure slightly greater than that of the beer to inject many small streams of gas intothe fastmoving liquid. This gives innumerable tiny bubbles and a dense creamy foam which flows through main beer inlet 54 into glass 68. The size of passageway at is increased just beyond the micro-porous insert to provide for the expansion of the beer into foam. After the glass is filled, handle N is returned to the ofi position.

I have found that the dense loam generated in this manner does not easily break and by using non-toxic gas of low water solubility, I achieve a foam which has been proven to last between four or five times as long as the head of foam on an ordinary glass of beer. The quantity of highly soluble carbon dioxide gas trapped in the bubbles is negligible and it has no apparent effect on my foam. Among the non-toxic gases of low water solubility which I have used, particularly good results have been obtained with air, nitrogen, Freon, and nitrous oxide gas. Character of the foam may be readily changed by adjusting pressure regulator it to give a different gas pressure but the important thing is to keep gas pressure abovethat of the beer to insure the proper flow of fluid through plug 30.

In Figs. 8 to 12 I show a modified form of spigot 84 which is of similar construction to the one shown in Figs. 1 to 7 except that the arrangement of the holes and connecting passageways is somewhat different. Theprincipal dilference is that the main beer passageway 86 of plug 8'! does not connect with the auxiliary beer passageway $8. The construction of this plug is best understood by following the movement of beer through the plug for different positions of handle 89.

With handle 89 in the off position (see Figs. 1 and 10) the passageways 86 and 88 are sealed off at both ends by casing 90 and neither beer or gas can enter spigot 8?. When handle 39 is moved into position 9|, beer inlet 92 and outlet $4 of casing 90 are connected by passageway 86 and beer is free to fiow through this passageway to fill a glass to the desired level (see Fig. 11). To put a head of foam on the beer, handle 88 is then moved into the position indicated at 93 in Fig. 9. When this is done, beer inlet 92 and outlet 84 of casing 96 are connected by auxiliary passageway 88 and channel 95 is registered with gas inlet 88. As previously described, this generates foam which flows through outlet Q4 into the glass (see Figs. 8, 9 and 12).

It will be understood that other combinations of the main and auxiliary passageways may be used and I do not intend to limit my invention to a split plug or to beer, since any liquid which readily foams may be used.

It will also be understood that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the preferred embodiment of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

l. A beer spigot comprising the combination of a casing with a plug rotatively mounted therein adapted to form a liquid-tight joint with said casing, said plug being provided with a main passageway through it and an auxiliary passageway terminating at one end in the periphery of the plug and at the other end in said main passageway, a micro-porous insert positioned in the wall of said auxiliary passageway and connected by a third passageway with a separate hole in the periphery of the plug, said casing being provided with a beer inlet hole, a gas inlet hole and a beer outlet hole in position to cooperate with the holes in said plug, and means for rotating the plug whereby the holes in said casing are sealed shut by the plug when it is in one position in said casing and the beer inlet and outlet holes are opened and connected by the main passageway through the plug while the gas inlet hole remains sealed shut when the plug is in a second position in said casing and whereby the beer inlet and outlet holes are opened and connected by means of the auxiliary and main passageways through the plug and the gas inlet hole is opened and connected to the third passageway in the plug when said plug is in a third position in said casing whereby beer or foam as desired may be supplied to said outlet hole depending upon the position of the plug.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1 in which said auxiliary passageway is constricted along an intermediate portion of its length to increase the velocity of fluid passing therethrough.

3. A beer spigot comprising the combination of a casing with a tapered bore, a plug rotatively mounted therein, spring means for holding said plug in the bore adapted to exert pressure against said plug to form a liquid-tight joint with the casing, said plug being divided into two sections by a spacer with a slot therein and being provided with a main passageway through it and an auxiliary passageway extending from the periphery of the plug through the slot in said spacer to the main beer passageway, a micro-porous insert positioned in the wall of said auxiliary passageway and connected by a third passageway with a separate hole in the periphery of said plug, a constriction in said auxiliary passageway positioned adjacent said insert, said casing being provided with a beer inlet hole, a gas inlet hole and a beer outlet hole in position to cooperate with the holes in said plug, and means for rotating the plug whereby the holes in said casing are sealed shut by the plug when it is in one position in said casing and the beer inlet and outlet holes are opened and connected by the main passageway through the plug while the gas inlet hole remains sealed shut when the plug is in a second position in said casing and whereby the beer inlet and outlet holes are opened and connected by means of the auxiliary and main passageways through the plug and the gas inlet hole is opened and connected to the third passageway in the plug when said plug is in a third position in said casing, whereby beer or foam as desired may be supplied to said outlet hole depending upon the position of the plug.

4. A spigot comprising the combination of a casing with a tapered bore, a plug rotatively mounted therein, means for holding said plug adapted to press the plug against said bore to form a liquid-tight joint with the casing, said plug being provided with a main and an auxiliary passageway through it, a micro-porous insert positioned in the wall of said auxiliary passageway and connected by a third passageway with a separate hole in the periphery of the plug, said casing being provided with a liquid inlet hole, a gas inlet hole and a liquid outlet hole in position to cooperate with the holes in said plug and means for rotating the plug whereby the holes in said casing are sealed shut by the plug when it is in one position in said casing and the beer inlet and outlet holes are opened and connected by the main passageway through the plug while the gas inlet hole remains sealed shut when the plug is in a second position in said casing and whereby the beer inlet and outlet holes are opened and connected by means of the auxiliary 20 o References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,067,021 Gross July 8, 1913 1,491,115 Taylor Apr. 22, 1924-. 1,711,900 Moisant May 7, 1929 2,198,585 Urquhart et a1. Apr. 23, 1940 2,250,295 Coleman July 22, 1941 2,354,695 McGlashan et al. Aug. 1, 1944 2,525,256 Byram Oct. 10, 1950 2,571,871 Hayes Oct. 16, 1951 2,621,908 Young et al Dec. 16, 1952 

